Oromotor, word retrieval, and dichotic listening performance in young adults with previous Rolandic epilepsy.

Objective: Results from a previous study indicated that children with Rolandic epilepsy (RE) exhibit abnormalities of oromotor and dichotic listening performance. The current study aimed to investigate whether the same individuals, 10 years later, still exhibited differences between the groups. Earlier literature suggests that children with RE normalize after remission and as they become adults. More recent studies have, on the contrary, suggested that there is a risk for residual oromotor and language deficits after remission.

Methods: Eleven young adults with RE and 9 matched controls were retested 10 years after participating in a study investigating oromotor ability, articulation, dichotic listening ability, and phonological and semantic word retrieval.

Results: Results of this longitudinal study indicated that there was a persistent, albeit reduced, difference between the groups, after remission, in dichotic listening and, to some extent, oromotor performance. Articulation and word retrieval did not differ between the groups.

Conclusions: Young adults with previous RE in childhood have a moderate risk for persistent difficulties in verbal perception and oromotor performance.